Spartanburg Methodist basketball team expected to become #1 in NJCAA

One of the most remarkable stories in college basketball this season, Spartanburg Methodist is about to reach another level of significance.

By TODD SHANESYtodd.shanesy@shj.com

One of the most remarkable stories in college basketball this season, Spartanburg Methodist is about to reach another level of significance.Second-ranked SMC (25-0), now the only remaining undefeated team in junior college, is poised to become the No. 1 team in the nation this afternoon when the latest NJCAA Division I poll is released. The top squad, Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College (24-1), lost at home Saturday to Butler (Kan.) Community College, 70-64.It didn't take long for word of that game to spread around the SMC campus. Several of the players, as well as Pioneers head coach Jeff Brookman on a rare weekend off, kept up with the game on the Internet.“I was watching updates on Twitter,” SMC sophomore forward Jalen Nesbitt said. “As soon as I saw they lost, I told everybody … I've been keeping a close watch for about a month. I've been waiting for this.”SMC is on the longest winning streak in school history. Last season, Brookman's second, the Pioneers won the Region 10 tournament and advanced to the national tournament — interestingly enough, also in Hutchinson — for the first time since 1999.This season, SMC has won all of its games with a roster composed entirely of players from South Carolina. All six of the Pioneers' leading scorers are from the upstate, four from Spartanburg County.“I don't know of another team that has a roster of kids from one state,” said Brookman, whose record at SMC is 73-18 overall, 54-7 in the past two seasons. “You just don't see that. To be able to do what we've done has been a great accomplishment.”The Pioneers have Nesbitt (12.9 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game) from Chapman High School; freshman DaQuan Jeffries (10.6 points, 6.1 rebounds) from Broome; sophomore point guard Travis Black (8.5 points and a team-high 5 assists per game) from Spartanburg Christian; sophomore Ben Johnson (5.7 points) from Boiling Springs; as well as Marquise Sims from Byrnes. SMC is led in scoring by sophomore Ronell Crockett (13.0 points) from T.L. Hanna and is getting 6.8 per game from another Anderson native, sophomore Kelsey Terry from Westside.“We have such great team chemistry,” Black said. “Everybody gets along, and we know that we have each other's backs. We always know that the next guy will do the job.”Case in point, during the month-long Christmas break, SMC lost leading scorer DaJohn Rowland from Chesnee High School because of academics. He was eligible by NJCAA requirements, but not by SMC standards as far as making progress toward graduation. He will not be allowed to return. That could have been a severe blow to a team with national title hopes.

“He was devastated, and I was devastated for him,” Brookman said. “He's a great kid. There were never any issues with him on or off the court. He's as talented as they come and was a huge key to what we were doing.“ … It hurt us initially. But guys have stepped up. Other guys started to contribute more. I always preach at the beginning of the season that guys have to be ready and that no individual is bigger than our program. We just had to move on.”Also consider that Brookman is working with two athletic scholarships to spread around among players who are not getting much academic or other help. Many of the other top programs at the NJCAA level are fully funded, meaning they have 15 scholarships.“There are a lot of teams in the top 25 — and also a lot of teams outside the top 25 — that are fully funded,” Brookman said. “To have 15 scholarships and be able to go out of state? Yeah, that sounds good. But you just have to find a way. You have to do a good job at recruiting and how you approach it. And you can't let scholarship numbers be an excuse for not being successful.”SMC, with its expected label as No. 1 in the country, will put that to an immediate test at 7:30 tonight at USC Salkehatchie in Walterboro.“We take pride in being 25-0, and we realize that we'll have a huge target on our backs as the No. 1 team, but that's a good thing,” Johnson said. “As far as the pressure, we haven't let it get to us all season, and I don't think it will be any different. Right now, we are feeling so much support. This is big not only for us and the school, but also the community.”The Pioneers have five more games before the league tournament, the next home game being 7:30 p.m. Friday against Cape Fear. They are on the verge of clinching the regular-season title and a berth in the NCJAA national event, which begins March 18 and has been expanded to 24 teams with a single-elimination format.“The ultimate goal is to get back to Hutch, not to be No. 1,” Brookman said. “I'm hoping that this won't change what we're doing or the mindset of playing a road game against a tough Region 10 opponent. Hopefully, our guys will stay mentally focused and ready.”